# CVE-2026-35385: Privilege escalation in OpenSSH

> Attackers can gain elevated privileges if root downloads files via legacy scp without preserving permissions, allowing setuid/setgid bits to be set.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 2 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 1 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-35385, AZL-81797, BELL-CVE-2026-35385, CLSA-2026-1777479123, CLSA-2026-1777542837, CLSA-2026-1777546896, CLSA-2026-1777547626, CLSA-2026-1777556512, CLSA-2026-1777567687, CLSA-2026-1777567965, CLSA-2026-1777586245, CLSA-2026-1777941033, CLSA-2026-1777941345, CLSA-2026-1777941349, CLSA-2026-1777941528, CLSA-2026-1777942153, CLSA-2026-1777976917, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-35385, ECHO-13e9-2447-ae62, GHSA-jgqr-738j-43cg, JLSEC-2026-74, RHSA-2026:22468, RHSA-2026:25063, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-35385, USN-8514-1, USN-8514-2

## What is CVE-2026-35385?

CVE-2026-35385 is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 2 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

In OpenSSH before 10.3, a file downloaded by scp may be installed setuid or setgid, an outcome contrary to some users' expectations, if the download is performed as root with -O (legacy scp protocol) and without -p (preserve mode).

Weakness: CWE-281 (Improper Preservation of Permissions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-35385?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `openssh` | Red Hat:rhel_els:6 | All versions | 0:5.3p1-125.el6_10.1 |
| `openssh-clients` | Red Hat:rhel_els:6 | All versions | 0:5.3p1-125.el6_10.1 |
| `openssh` | Red Hat:rhel_els:7 | All versions | 0:7.4p1-23.el7_9.2 |
| `openssh-clients` | Red Hat:rhel_els:7 | All versions | 0:7.4p1-23.el7_9.2 |

Products: OpenSSH.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-35385?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-35385 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-35385 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in OpenSSH

- [CVE-2003-0786](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0786/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2003-0693](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0693/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2002-0640](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0640/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2001-0144](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-0144/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-0999](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0999/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-35385 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-35385 is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 2 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-35385 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: OpenSSH. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35385/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35385/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-35385
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35385
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-35385

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35385/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.